Blu-ray & DVD 2025 Gift Guide

In this column I highlight a number of music-minded titles from several different genres that would make great gifts for a favorite music lover.

Rock

Artist: Def Leppard

Title: Diamond Star Heroes: Live From Sheffield (Mercury Studios)
You might like if you enjoy: Def Leppard, Queen
Tell me more: On May 22, 2023, British rockers Def Leppard returned to their hometown to perform their second-ever stadium concert at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, England. Diamond Star Heroes: Live From Sheffield is available on Blu-ray+2CD, 4K UHD, 2CD and 2LP. The 4K UHD version of the title marks Def Leppard's first-ever 4K release and includes "One Night Only Live At The Leadmill," a 13-track concert staged in front of an intimate crowd of 900 die-hard fans in 2023. Diamond Star Heroes: Live From Sheffield features a parade of Def Leppard's classics including "Let's Get Rocked," "Foolin'," Bringin' On The Heartbreak," "Pour Some Sugar On Me," "Rock Of Ages" and "Photograph." Information: mercurystudios.co.

Artist: The Rolling Stones

Title: Black and Blue (Interscope/UMe)
You might like if you enjoy: The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, classic rock
Tell me more: Nov. 14, 2025 marked the highly-anticipated reissue of The Rolling Stones' 1976 album Black and Blue. Available as a 5LP vinyl box set and a 4CD box set, both editions include a Blu-ray Disc, a 100-page hardback book and a replica tour poster. Black and Blue is The Rolling Stones' 13th studio album and features classic cuts including "Hot Stuff," "Hands of Fate" and "Fool To Cry." Among the bonus tracks featured on the collection are the rowdy "Shame, Shame, Shame" and several tracks featuring Jeff Beck. There is also a full live concert recording from the English band's six night residency at London's Earls Court Exhibition Centre as well as a previously unreleased TV broadcast of the Stones' 1976 show at Les Abattoirs in Paris, plus Dolby Atmos surround sound mixes of both the studio album and the live Earls Court concert. Information: rollingstones.com.

Artist: Peter Gabriel

Title: Taking The Pulse (Mercury Studios)

You might like if you enjoy: Peter Gabriel, Radiohead, elbow
Tell me more: Peter Gabriel's "Taking The Pulse" is an ambitious concert film that finds the groundbreaking English. artist and the New Blood Orchestra reworking 16 selections sans guitars, bass and drums. Working with arranger John Metcalfe, the concert filmed on Sept. 26, 2010 captured Gabriel, several backing singers and a full orchestra under the baton of Ben Foster performing at the legendary Arena di Verona in Italy. Directed by Anna Gabriel, "Taking The Pulse" fuses dazzling concert footage with dramatic lighting and artful graphics to deliver Peter Gabriel's theatrical vision across the 97-minute performance. Information: mercurystudios.co.

Opera & Classical

Artist: Andrea Bocelli

Title: The Celebration: 30th Anniversary (Mercury Studios)
You might like if you enjoy: Andrea Bocelli, Jon Batiste, Brian May
Tell me more: Marking three decades as a celebrated performer, Italian singer Andrea Bocelli's The Celebration: 30th Anniversary features the artist performing at the open air amphitheater Teatro del Silenzio (Theatre of Silence) in 2024 in his hometown of Tuscany with a star-studded lineup of stellar guests. The two-disc 4K UHD package features two shows — "The Celebration" and "30 Years of Musical Inspiration" collectively featuring more than 4 and a half hours of performances! Bocelli is joined by an 80-member orchestra along with a cast of more than 200 musicians including Ed Sheeran, Jon Batiste, Shania Twain, Brian May and others. In addition to the aforementioned 4K version, the title is also available via several other two-disc and four-disc deluxe formats. Information: mercurystudios.co.

Artist: Luciano Pavarotti

Title: The Lost Concert — Live at Llangollen 1995 (Mercury Studios)

You might like if you enjoy: Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, opera
Tell me more: The aptly-titled "The Lost Concert — Live at Llangollen 1995" is a previously-unavailable concert performance featuring the late Luciano Pavarotti recorded at the prestigious Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in North Wales in 1995. The historic concert event features Pavarotti performing with the BBC Philharmonic as well as soprano Atzuko Kawahara and Corale Gioachino Rossini. The winning concert event combines popular operatic arias and choruses as well as Neapolitan songs, one of Pavarotti's own compositions and orchestral interludes. The essential new title (set for release on Friday, Nov. 21) will be available on Blu-ray, TVOD and digital platforms. Information: mercurystudios.co.

Artists: Bryan Register, Catherine Foster, Annika Schlicht, more

Title: Tristan Und Isolde (Arthaus Musik)
You might like if you enjoy: German Opera, composer Richard Wagner 
Tell me more: German composer Richard Wagner once called love "the most beautiful of all dreams" and that observation likely fueled the creation of his 1865 masterwork "Tristan and Isolde." Now a production of the three-act opera starring tenor Bryan Register as Tristan and the Bayreuth-celebrated soprano Catherine Foster as Isolde is out on DVD. The filmed production also features singers Annika Schlicht, Andreas Jäpel and Dimitry Ivashchenko. The production was created for the stage of the State Theater in Cottbus, Germany. Running nearly four hours in German, the filmed version on the DVD has English subtitles provided. Information: mvdshop.com. 

Artists: Placido Domingo, Carlos Kleiber

Title: Carmen (Monad Music)
You might like if you enjoy: Placido Domingo, French opera
Tell me more: Fans of composer Georges Bizet's beloved "Carmen" are in luck. A historic 1978 production of the 154-minute opera conducted by Carlos Kleiber and starring then-young lyric tenor Placido Domingo (as Don Jose) and soprano Elena Obraztsova in the title role is now available on Blu-ray. The staging was completed by director Franco Zeffirelli (who also directed the production for TV) and the performance was captured at Vienna State Opera. This is a groundbreaking filmed version of Bizet's 1875 French opera. Information: monarda-music.com.

Robert Kinsler

Andrea Bocelli delights fans at Honda Center

My review was originally published on the Orange County Register site earlier today.

Live review: Andrea Bocelli at Honda Center

Pity the fools who spent anywhere from $75 to $375 for tickets to attend Andrea Bocelli’s seemingly sold-out concert at Honda Center in Anaheim on Sunday night, only to arrive after he had delivered some of the night’s most memorable moments.

Because the concert was divided into two parts, the first half of the night allowed the adored 53-year-old Italian tenor to showcase his love of opera through popular selections from Verdi, Puccini and Gounod. Yet I couldn’t believe that even 30 minutes into the program, some attendees were still just making their way to their seats and disrupting other concert-goers’ experience.

Many of the selections featured were ones familiar to those who have caught the singer at the Ducks home in the past, including last year’s holiday-themed appearance. But Bocelli’s warm and soaring tenor, radiant smile and genuine connection with both the audience and the other musicians on stage made for a magical night. Adding to the decisive factor was the clarity of the vocal amplification of Bocelli, sopranos Ana Maria Martinez and Heather Headley, as well as the orchestra and chorus.

After conductor Eugene Kohn led the large symphony plus the Cal Voce Singers through the “Triumph Chorus” from Verdi’s Aida, the popular tenor took the stage to deliver “La mia letizia infondere,” the first of many popular arias, songs and sacred songs he would perform over the course of the night.

As Bocelli offered a bit of something for everyone (opera, popular song, holiday fare), one didn’t have to wait long to hear a favorite style or selection from Bocelli’s increasingly wide discography. (His latest, Concerto: One Night in Central Park, a document of his September show in NYC, was released last month.)
This writer’s taste is decidedly in the world of opera, and Bocelli didn’t disappoint. Highlights included his ever-popular ease with Verdi’s “La donna e mobile” from Rigoletto and a heartfelt duet with Martinez on the beautiful “O soave fanciulla” from Puccini’s La Boheme.

Connecting with an audience as large as the one that nearly filled Honda Center isn’t easy – even when armed with a wonderful voice and backed by a large orchestra – so it didn’t hurt that a large curtain behind the stage, plus two large screens positioned on the sides, projected footage of the performers as well as artful imagery enhancing the experience.
The second half of the concert allowed Bocelli to continue to showcase his tenor – including sustained high notes – in a mix of sacred and holiday songs (notably his affecting “Adeste fidelis” from 2009′s My Christmas album) and popular tunes such as “More (Ti Guardero Nel Cuore)” and “O sole mio.” Headley was featured on a crowd-pleasing rendition of “Over the Rainbow” that, while technically brilliant, was still a bit over-the-top. The Grammy- and Tony-winning soprano’s voice was better utilized on a duet with Bocelli, “Canto della terra.”

Other standouts from the second half included “Ave Maria,” with Bocelli both singing and playing flute, and an incredible version of “Amazing Grace” that began with him singing in a hushed voice to the quiet accompaniment of strings. The song built slowly and effectively, with the repeated lines “was blind, but now I see” particularly poignant.

The night ended with a captivating encore that extended the eclectic theme. As he performed an upbeat version of “New York, New York,” images of Bocelli greeting fans and visiting various sites in the Big Apple were displayed. Martinez then joined him for a high-powered version of the popular “Time to Say Goodbye (Con te partiro)” before the star came out to cap off the night with a potent “Nessun dorma” from Turandot.